What To Do With Your Sore Ankle?

As a runner, you can face joint and muscle pain in your ankle. It can be due to many factors: a sign of arthritis, tendinitis, muscle strains or mild tension in the ankle. Stretching and strengthening exercises will reduce pain in the ankle and prevent future injuries by improving flexibility.

Try these following exercises that will stretch and strengthen the surrounding muscles:

1. Calf stretch
If your muscles are tense or if you have Achilles tendonitis, a standing calf stretch can help relieve ankle pain. Perform the calf stretch in a staggered posture. Advance slowly while keeping your heel down. You should feel a stretch in the calf, the Achilles tendon and the posterior ankle. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat once to three times.

2. Circles with the ankle
This is an active stretch that you can do in a sitting or lying position. Slowly, turn your ankle clockwise 10-15 times and repeat it counterclockwise. Perform before and after running to keep your ankles loose and muscles flexible.

3. Strengthen calves
Strengthening the calf muscles can help prevent ankle pain. Lift your heels with your weight on the toes. . Then slowly lower your heels down and repeat. Perform two or three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. As calf raises become easier, add resistance with weights or a resistance machine.

4. Resistance Band or resistance tube
To strengthen the muscles around your ankle, perform ankle movements with a resistance band. Wrap one end of a resistance band around your foot and anchor the other end in a chair or stable object. In a sitting position with your leg straight, move your ankle in all directions- upwards, down, sideways. Perform one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions in each direction.

5. Calf flexibility exercise
To increase the flexibility of your injured ankle, stand straight in front of a wall. Place the injured foot behind the other foot with both feet directly towards the wall. Extend both hands to the wall, using it as ankle resistance. With your heels down, bend the front leg down the knee until you feel a stretch in the back ankle. Hold the stretch until you are fatigued.

​We have resistance bands and tubes available at the clinic, if you need one. Contact us on 0800 466 724